THE GILTWOOD CANDELABRA MID-18TH CENTURY, THE TÔLE AND MARBLEIZED BASES OF A LATER DATE

These unusual candelabra, with supports in the form of naturalistically carved oak trees, are probably inspired by a group of similar Italian tree-form consoles, predominantly carved in Rome. Foremost among these are a pair of corner consoles with oak tree supports, which research in the Vatican archives by Alvar González-Palacios revealed to have been supplied to Cardinal Flavio II Chigi for his Villa Chigi in Salaria in 1769, the oak tree featuring prominently on the Chigi coat-of-arms (sold in these Rooms, 26 October 1994, lot 110). Other examples include a pair of consoles from Villa Bombrini, Genoa, offered Christie's London, 11 Decmber 2001, lot 40, and a further pair sold in these Rooms, 17 October 1997, lot 43 ($90,000).

Their distinctive form ultimately derives from Roman baroque forms from the 17th Century, most particularly a table in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, attributed to the celebrated baroque architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, carved in the form of a tree and supporting his marble figure of San Lorenzo (see A. González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Roma e il Regno delle Due Sicilie, Milan, vol.I, p. 56, fig. VII). Two designs for related tables in the Stockholm National Museum are illustrated op. cit., vol. II, figs. 81-2.